The development of practical optical fiber systems has just begun. Such systems utilize modulated light sources, primarily semiconductor light emitting diodes (LEDs), the optical output of which is guided via an optical fiber link to a receiving site. The optical power energy emerging from the fiber then impinges upon a photodetector, usually a back-biased P-I-N semiconductor diode or the like, in which electrical charge carriers are generated and thereafter amplified to yield a useful output signal.
Hence, there are three crucial components in such systems. The optical power source or transmitter, the optical fiber link, and the photodetector or receiver. Should the transmission mode be analog, nonlinear distortion becomes a factor affecting the integrity of operation possibly to the extent that a practical system cannot be realized. The problem of nonlinear distortion is, of course, not new to optical fiber systems. It is, however, a stumbling block here more than in other systems because practical light sources such as LEDs produce a light output the intensity of which does not vary with sufficient linearity with the electrical input signal. As a result, second and third order nonlinearities would produce distortion in, say, a transmitted analog video signal, thereby limiting the quality of transmission. As a result, transmission over longer distances would not be possible. While of course the photodetector is also not fully linear, its contribution to distortion of the signal has been shown to be minimal in comparison with the LED produced distortion.